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Act 181 is coming: How will it affect your property?

By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In 2024, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 181 that makes a number of changes to the state’s laws on land use with special attention to encouraging new housing in downtowns. But there may also be changes to the way rural land is treated and landowners should pay […]

Is Chester’s long-delayed sidewalk project in the Depot finally a go?

By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Children in second grade at Chester-Andover Elementary today had not been born when the Town received an $800,000 grant to build a sidewalk from Bargefrede Road at the lower portion of Depot Street to Town Hall. But after an eight-year delay that doubled the project’s cost, the […]

Chester board talks Class 4 roads, economic development and flags

By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a relatively short meeting last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board covered a lot of territory including looking at forming an economic development commission and further refining the language of a policy on the maintenance and use of Class 4 roads. Economic Development Commission Town Manager Julie […]

Chester planners consider bylaw change to allow LED sign for GM, but zoning glitch may preclude it

By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing On Monday evening, Chester’s Planning Commission got down to work on an issue that’s been on its radar for a while. That being “electric message display” signs or EMDs. The idea of such a sign for Green Mountain Union High School has been raised at past planning meetings […]

Chester board talks optional sales tax, Class 4 roads and 40-year-old money

By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Last Wednesday’s Select Board meeting agenda was heavy with discussion and pretty light on action items. And for long-time Chester board watchers it was like old times with multiple comments from former members Derek Suursoo and Bill Lindsay. Three agenda items came in for substantial discussion: a 1 […]

‘Workers over Billionaires’ at Chester rally on Labor Day

 Drone video by Scott Wunderle By Shawn Cunningham © 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC More than 200 people turned out on the Chester Green on Labor Day for a rally for workers’ rights and in opposition to the policies of the Trump administration. As a continuous stream of upbeat songs played on a large sound […]

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  • Invasives Part 1: Eliminating invasive plants is a good start to reclaiming biodiversity in Vermont

    Invasives Part 1: Eliminating invasive plants is a good start to reclaiming biodiversity in Vermont

    By Will Danforth ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Do you care about the natural world in Vermont? Then let’s tackle foreign invasive plants. Invasive, non-native plants are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity — the vtinvasives.org site says, “Monitoring for and treating invasive terrestrial plants is one of the most important things you can do […]

  • Free Health & Wellness Fair, BBQ lunch in Derry Sept. 19

    Free Health & Wellness Fair, BBQ lunch in Derry Sept. 19

    Neighborhood Connections is sponsoring a Health & Wellness Fair from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19 at its offices in the Mountain Marketplace, 5700 VT Route 100 in Londonderry. More than 25 exhibitors will be on hand to showcase the benefits and services that are offered in the community. A free BBQ […]

  • Chester quilter Linda Diak awarded grant from Vermont Arts Council

    Chester quilter Linda Diak awarded grant from Vermont Arts Council

    The Vermont Arts Council recently announced the 26 recipients of its most competitive grant program, the Creation Grant, which awards Vermont artists up to $5,000 to be used for developing new work. Linda Diak, an award-winning quilter from Chester, was selected to receive a fiscal year 2026 Creation Grant to support the creation of art […]

  • Whiting Library's Annual Book Sale Sept. 20 & 21

    Whiting Library’s Annual Book Sale Sept. 20 & 21

    Whiting Library’s Annual Book Sale will take place on the library lawn, 117 Main St. in Chester, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21. It will occur in collaboration with the Chester Festival on the Green. The Book Sale comprises donated […]

  • To the editor: Let Vermont politics remain civil

    To the editor: Let Vermont politics remain civil

    The recent murder of Charlie Kirk is a stark and tragic reminder of just how fragile our democracy and our civil society can be when disagreements cross the line into violence. Let me be clear: I fundamentally reject much of the rhetoric Kirk stood for. His words often carried racism, homophobia, and misogyny views that […]

  • Chester Select Board agenda for Sept. 17

    Chester Select Board agenda for Sept. 17

    The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St., and via Zoom. To join the meeting go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988842129 Below is its agenda 1. Approval of minutes from the Select Board meeting dated Sept. 3, 2025 and Special Select Board meeting dated […]

  • Chester GOP holds reorganization caucus Sept. 16

    Chester GOP holds reorganization caucus Sept. 16

    Registered voters of Chester are welcome to join the Chester Republican Committee in holding its Republican Town Re-Organization Caucus and Meeting, at 6 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 16 at the Fullerton Inn Meeting Room, 40 The Common, in Chester. The committee is electing seven officers/delegates and seven alternates to represent Chester, the largest Republican town committee […]

  • Andover Dems to hold reorganizing caucus

    Andover Dems to hold reorganizing caucus

    The Andover Democratic Committee is holding a reorganization caucus at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16,  at the Andover Town Hall, 953 Weston-Andover Road. In Vermont, political parties must reorganize in September of every odd-numbered year. Parties organize by electing members at town caucuses, then sending representatives to county committees. County committees then send representatives […]

  • Chester Townscape taking orders for spring bulbs

    Chester Townscape taking orders for spring bulbs

    Chester Townscape volunteers will be selling spring-flowering daffodil, tulip and allium bulbs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Chester’s Festival on The Green. Look for CT’s tall wooden trailer at the west end of the Green. All bulbs are […]

  • Ludlow Rotary seeks entries for 34th Annual Chili Cook-off

    Ludlow Rotary seeks entries for 34th Annual Chili Cook-off

    The Ludlow Area Rotary Club is sponsoring its 34th Annual Chili Cook-off from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the traffic light on Depot Street. Chilis are welcome from individuals, clubs and businesses. Entrants are asked to provide five gallons of chili, and LRC can help with servers if needed. Participants […]

  • To the editor: Secretary of State lying about election security

    To the editor: Secretary of State lying about election security

    In a recent radio interview, our Secretary of State, Sara Copland Hanzas, painted a dishonestly rosy picture of Vermont’s current elections system. She responded to the host’s question about potential “ballot stuffing” by saying, “We have very detailed election procedures that our town and city clerks follow to a T, which means that whether they’re […]

  • Op-Ed: Two events, two parties, intersecting viewpoints

    Op-Ed: Two events, two parties, intersecting viewpoints

    By Nicholas Boke What a contrast. A couple of hundred southern Vermont Democrats gathered — for the fourth time since Donald Trump was elected — on the Chester Green on Labor Day for  Workers over Billionaires, a honk-and-wave that included speeches by several state senators and a couple of Vermont labor union spokespeople. The following […]

  • First case of mosquito-borne virus found in Windsor County resident

    First case of mosquito-borne virus found in Windsor County resident

    On Monday, Sept. 8, Vermont health officials have confirmed the first case of Jamestown Canyon virus in a person in Vermont. Through laboratory testing and reporting by their health care provider, that person has been identified as a resident of Windsor County. The Jamestown Canyon virus is spread to people through the bite of an […]

  • Musical spiritual morning at Landgrove Meeting House Sept. 14

    Musical spiritual morning at Landgrove Meeting House Sept. 14

    Fiddler Ida Mae Specker and former Congregational minister Melissa O’Brien invite the community to a joyful and prayerful gathering  at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the historic Landgrove Meeting House, 88 Landgrove Road. Come enjoy music, song and spiritual connection with neighbors and friends. Suggested donation is $10.

  • Annual Phineas Gage Walk & Talk Sept. 14

    Annual Phineas Gage Walk & Talk Sept. 14

    The annual Phineas Gage Walk & Talk will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum, 1958 Main St. Gage, a railroad foreman, had a tamping rod pass through his head as a result of a blasting accident on September 13, 1848 and lived for 12 more years. […]

  • Fall Festival Open House at Derry Library Sept. 13

    Fall Festival Open House at Derry Library Sept. 13

    The South Londonderry Free Library, 15 Old School Road, invites kids of all ages (and grown-ups too) to attend its Fall Festival Open House from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. There will be food, a scavenger hunt, library tours, music by local musicians and the opportunity to learn about Tommyfest, an […]

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